Golf club designers are constructing golf clubs, especially metal wood golf clubs, with space-age materials, such as aircraft-grade aluminum, titanium, carbon fiber composites, metal alloys, and the like to increase the performance of the golf club and make it easier for the average golfer to hit. However, the use of these space-age materials has lead to an increase in the price of golf clubs, which may exceed $500 or more for a single golf club. For many golfers, these clubs are more than sports equipment, they are an investment. Unfortunately, most golf bags perform poorly in protecting these expensive golf clubs. For instance, golf bags have traditionally used top cuffs with two dividers to partition the golf bag into three individual compartments. The compartments allow the golf clubs to shift back and forth and strike one another causing nicks, scratches, and dents in both the club heads and the golf shafts. Furthermore, these dividers allow the shorter golf clubs to strike the longer golf clubs around the hosel area, which may damage the club head or the shaft of the longer golf clubs. This is especially critical for golf clubs using composite shafts that have coatings that may be easily damaged.
This problem may be further exacerbated if the golf bag is carried. When the golf bag is placed over the shoulder of the golfer, the bag may be canted, or tilted to one side as it rests against the golfer's body. The tilting of the golf bag may result in most, if not all, of the clubs shifting to one side of the golf bag, which results in the golf clubs being in constant contact with one another for prolonged periods of time, thereby increasing the amount of damage to the individual golf clubs.
Several approaches have attempted to address these problems. One approach has been to provide the top cuff with a vertical divider located along a central axis and a pair of cross dividers. In some instances, the vertical divider extended between the pair of cross dividers to create four separate compartments, while in other instances, the vertical divider extended across the entire top cuff to create six separate compartments. Both of these configurations served to separate the golf clubs from one another. Additionally, the dividers may have been covered in a soft cloth or fabric to protect the expensive composite shafts from excessive wear. However, the golf clubs within one compartment can still move around and collide with other golf clubs within the same compartment and adjacent compartments. Furthermore, the dividers typically lie below or even with the level of the top cuff, which allows the shorter golf clubs to come in contact with and damage the shaft and hosel area of longer golf clubs.
A second approach to solve the problem includes several methods for separating the top cuff into 14 individual compartments, with each compartment designed to hold a single golf club. One 14-way top cuff design includes placing 14 individual elongated tubes within the golf bag, such that each tube held a single golf club.
Another 14-way top cuff design includes using a number of straight members oriented parallel to one another and attached to opposite end of the top cuff and a number of curved members oriented substantially perpendicular to the straight members. The intersection of the straight and curved members create fourteen individual compartments, which are capable of holding a single golf club. Although the intersecting member created individual compartments, which separated the individual golf clubs and provided protection to the shafts. Although both methods separate the individual golf clubs, the iron golf clubs can still shift within the golf bag and bump into one another. In addition, the top of the tubes typically rest below the level of the top cuff, thereby allowing the heads of the shorter golf clubs to strike the shaft and hosel area of longer golf clubs.
Yet another attempt included a golf club holder insert that fit within the opening of a golf bag that includes a primary holding compartment and a number of secondary holding compartments. The primary holding compartment is typically cylindrical in nature and extends above the secondary holding compartments to separate the longer golf clubs from the shorter golf clubs. The primary holding compartment separates the longer clubs from the shorter golf clubs, which may be stored in the secondary compartments to protect shaft and hosel of the longer golf clubs from damage, which may be caused by contact with the clubs stored in the secondary compartment.
The current top cuffs are typically made from a composite material and have a wall that extends several inches into the interior of the golf bag to provide rigidity to the open end of the golf bag. The wall of the top cuff also provides a point for attaching folding legs for stand-type golf bags. There are two primary types of carts a golfer may use to transport his or her golf bag: a hand trolley or a motorized golf cart. In both circumstances, the golf bag rests upon a support structure, while the top cuff rests against an upper support and is secured by a strap assembly. However, when the stand-type golf bags are placed on either a hand trolley or a motorized golf cart, the folding legs are pressed against the upper support, which may damage folding legs, and render the stand-type golf bag useless.
Therefore, there is a continuing need for an improved top cuff design for a golf bag. In particular, there is a need for a top cuff for a golf bag that minimizes the contact between individual golf clubs that are placed in the golf bag. There is an additional need for a top cuff for stand-type golf bags that may eliminate the contact of the folding legs of the stand mechanism with the support structures of the a hand trolley or motorized golf cart.